Centennial celebration of Mahoning County Courthouse set for Friday

YOUNGSTOWN — As the Mahoning County Courthouse marks its centennial, county officials and those who’ve been engaged in its preservation say a proposed major restoration of the deteriorating landmark should be a top priority.

“The situation with the courthouse, if it isn’t attended to, is going to get worse, and then it’ll actually, potentially, accelerate to more extensive deterioration,” warned architect Robert Mastriana of the 4M Co.

“What we did is merely a temporary fix,” Mastriana said of the removal last fall of the copper rooftop statues and the shoring up of their pedestal.

Mastriana’s firm issued a report early last year to the county commissioners, which recommended $10.1 million in repairs to the courthouse and to the adjacent 1956-vintage county administration building.

“The county knows the urgency of this, and that’s why they’re doing everything in their power to secure funds to save the building,” Mastriana said of the courthouse.

Mastriana made his remarks as the county bar association prepares for a 12:30 p.m. Friday ceremony in the courthouse rotunda to mark the centennial of the building’s March 6, 1911, opening.

For the complete story and courthouse chronology, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com